MINNEAPOLIS — Sure, the Minnesota Gophers missed out on their chance to win the Big Ten's West Division on Friday when Nebraska blew a late lead in a loss to Iowa.
On Saturday, however, the Gophers grabbed a couple of valuable prizes nonetheless: Paul Bunyan's Axe and the knowledge that they kept their most bitter rival from playing for the Big Ten championship.
After two snaps in Victory Formation, the Gophers raced to the Axe in the West end zone, and fans stormed the field. Shortly after, the public address system blared, "Jump Around,'' the signature song for Wisconsin, as the fans jumped around the field.
"We were just playing harder than they were,'' said sixth-year senior tight end Ko Kieft in a postgame radio interview.
Minnesota's defense kept Wisconsin out of the end zone as the Gophers defeated the No. 14 Badgers, 23-13, in front of 49,736 at Huntington Bank Stadium, winning the Axe for the second time in the past four years and the first time at home since 2003. Minnesota's victory means Iowa won the West outright and will play Michigan for the conference championship next Saturday in Indianapolis.
The Gophers (8-4, 6-3) finished in a three-way tie for second in the West with Purdue and Wisconsin (8-4, 6-3). Had Nebraska held on to win and all other results stayed the same, Minnesota would be going to Indy.
Tanner Morgan passed for a touchdown to Chris Autman-Bell, Ky Thomas rushed for a TD and the Gophers got three field goals from Matthew Trickett. The Gophers defense was outstanding, holding the Badgers to only a field goal in the second half. Wisconsin's lone touchdown came on an interception return in the first half.
Down 10-6 at halftime, the Gophers used a dominant third quarter to take the lead.
Justin Walley's interception set up Minnesota at the Badgers 28, and Morgan immediately followed with a 26-yard hookup with tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford. Thomas' 2-yard TD run gave the Gophers a 13-10 lead.
After Wisconsin tied it 13-13 on Collin Larsh's 28-yard field goal, Morgan's 27-yard TD pass to Autman-Bell gave the Gophers a 20-13 lead with 1:56 left in the third quarter. After Lash's 48-yard field-goal attempt was short off the crossbar, the Gophers drove to the Badgers 18 and stretched the lead to 23-13 on Trickett's 36-yard field goal with 6:08 to play.
On the Gophers' first play from scrimmage, Morgan hit Autman-Bell on a slant for a 10-yard gain. Autman-Bell was hammered by Badgers safety Collin Wilder, who was called for targeting. Video review upheld the call, and Wilder was ejected.
Morgan converted a third-down situation with a 5-yard run to the Badgers 39 and another with an 8-yard pass to Mike Brown-Stephens to the 27. Thomas' 2-yard gain on third-and-1 moved the ball to the 16. Wisconsin's defense stiffened, and the Gophers settled for Matthew Trickett's 28-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead with 7:29 left in the first quarter. The drive covered 65 yards in 14 plays.
Wisconsin answered with a 15-play, 89-yard drive to tie the score 3-3 on Larsh's 25-yard field goal with 12:37 left in the second quarter. Key plays on the march were Allen's 1-yard run on third-and-1 from the Wisconsin 31, a roughing-the-passer call on Gophers defensive end Boye Mafe after an incomplete pass on third down, and Mertz's 17-yard connection with Chimere Dike to the Gophers 14. The Badgers had first-and-goal from the 6, but an illegal formation penalty backed them up, and Mertz threw incomplete on third down.
Wisconsin's defense turned the game on the Gophers' next offensive play. Outside linebacker Noah Burks tipped Morgan's first-down pass, and safety Scott Nelson intercepted it and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown and 10-3 Badgers lead.
The Gophers responded with a 31-yard field goal by Trickett to cut the lead to 10-6 with 8:19 left in the half. The big play on the eight-play, 53-yard drive was Morgan's pass to Mar'Keise Irving out of the backfield for a 36-yard gain to the Wisconsin 29, a play on which only linebacker Leo Chenal's tackle prevented Irving from scoring.
Wisconsin got the ball to start the second half, but the Gophers got a big defensive play right away. On third-and-9 from the 19, Mertz threw toward Pryor along the sideline. Walley leaped and won a battle for the ball, coming up with an interception at the Wisconsin 28 that withstood a replay review.
The Gophers immediately went for the score, with Morgan hitting Spann-Ford down the middle for a 26-yard gain to the 2. Thomas then swept right for the touchdown and 13-10 Minnesota lead with 13:24 left in the third quarter.
Wisconsin answered by driving 66 yards in 11 plays, knotting the score 13-13 on Larsh's 28-yard field goal. Walley's tackle of tight end Jake Ferguson on third-and-7 from the 11 kept the Badgers out of the end zone.
Again, Minnesota responded, as Morgan hit Autman-Bell for a 27-yard TD pass and 20-13 lead with 1:56 left in the third quarter. Big plays on the drive included Morgan's 27-yard hookup with Dylan Wright on third-and-10 that moved the to the Badgers 35, and Wright drawing a pass interference penalty that put it at the 17.
